Meghan unveils her own coat of arms as duchess
THE Duchess of Sussex has chosen two golden rays across a blue background on her coat of arms to represent the Californian sunshine and Pacific Ocean off the coast of her home state.
Meghan worked closely with the College of Arms in London to create the design, Kensington Palace said, with three quills representing communication and the power of words.
The flowers in the grass beneath the shield pay homage to her old and new homes, with a collection of golden poppies, California’s state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace.
It is customary for wives of members of the royal family to have one of their husband’s supporters of the shield and one relating to themselves.
The gold lion, royally crowned, dates from the House of Stuart’s ascent to the throne with James VI in 1603, while the supporter relating to the Duchess is a songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak, which with the quill represents the power of communication.
A coronet, laid down by the Royal Warrant of 1917 for the children of the heir to the throne, has also been assigned to Meghan, bearing two crosses pattee, four fleurs-de-lys and two strawberry leaves.
The arms of a married woman are shown placed side by side with her husband’s in the same shield.
The design was agreed and approved by the Queen and Thomas Woodcock, the Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England.
He said: “The Duchess of Sussex took a great interest in the design. Good heraldic design is nearly always simple and the arms of The Duchess of Sussex stand well beside the historic beauty of the quartered British royal arms.
“Heraldry as a means of identification has flourished in Europe for almost 900 years and is associated with both individual people and great corporate bodies such as cities, universities and, for instance, the livery companies in the City of London.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were given the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they married last weekend at St George’s chapel in Windsor Castle.
The decision to grant the Duchess a coat of arms in her own right follows a model set by the Duchess of Gloucester when she married into the Royal Family in 1972 after being born in Denmark.